Ashes to Ashes
by bookwtchery
Summary: Someone from Brodi's past shows up, and the results are not pleasant.
1. Chapter 1

Brodi was having one of those days where getting out of bed was just a bad idea. He had overslept, something that had been happening more frequently since his hospital stay. He knew is body was trying to heal itself, that the oversleeping was a sign that he was not giving himself enough time to sleep. However, considering that he had been unconscious for three weeks, Brodi really didn't WANT to sleep. He wanted to just enjoy being alive, being with his friends, being with Elise, being AWAKE. He knew, of course, that he wasn't being logical or even giving his physical condition time to correct itself. Still, he had this aversion to sleep, an aversion that wasn't helped by the knowledge that his original injuries had been perhaps moderate but nowhere near severe enough to warrant his being in a coma for three weeks.

Further knowledge that this coma was the result of a doctor's misguided practice—suffice it to say that Brodi had a firsthand understanding of why Psymon hated hospitals so much. Nonetheless, Brodi had kept a doctor's appointment in the hopes that he'd be taken off of medical leave, but the doctor had extended it for another two weeks. He knew, of course, that he wasn't doing all he could to take care of himself and that was one of the reasons he had not been released. To make matters worse, he'd had to skip his morning meditation just to make this medical appointment because he'd overslept. Once or twice wasn't going to matter much, but he'd skipped meditation several times recently and that wasn't going to help him get back on track, either. The season was going to be over by the time he got back out on the slopes, and he was just itching to get back out there. He supposed he should be glad that Rahzel and Atomika were setting up appearances for him so that he could supplement the disability, but he was left itching for a good race. So yeah, frustrated would be the mildest thing he could say about how he felt right now.

Then he'd felt, all morning long, like he was being followed. He'd caught a glimpse of someone once, but was praying he was wrong. He was probably just feeling antsy because of the appointment he'd had, because of his lack of sleep, and because he was letting his spiritual practice slip, but it felt good to get back to the lodge and be headed for the safety and familiarity of his room.

"So, I know you recognize me. I can see it in your eyes every time you notice me. Why haven't you had security remove me yet?"

Brodi froze in place in the alcove, his hand on the inner doors. He hadn't heard anyone come up behind him, but he didn't have to turn around to know who was speaking to him. Well, that put an end to ideas about his just being paranoid. And judging from the time of day—it was just after 11am—the lodge was going to be deserted. Everyone was at a race or practicing and wouldn't be heading in for lunch for at least an hour, so he truly was alone at the moment. Doubtless there was no one in the lodge but administrative staff. He took a deep breath while considering how to answer this creature who had been stalking him.

"You can turn round and answer honestly. You won't hurt my feelings."

Another deep breath. He could do this. Slowly he turned around to face her. "Lauryll. Hi. Yes, I had noticed you were around. But believe me, my dear, fear of hurting your feelings had not entered my mind."

The woman standing behind him scowled.

"Ouch. But yes, I deserve that. You still haven't answered my question, though."

Brodi tilted his head and looked at the petite brunette. She was still pretty, still possessed an air of innocence he knew was a façade. "I can certainly arrange for your removal if you prefer. But, since I'm not in the habit of leaving my drinks unattended anymore, I have friends and an employer who would notice if I'm missing for more than a day, and I lock my door now, I haven't been overly concerned. No Coby and Daniel, either. Unless they're hiding."

Lauryll shrugged. "Dead? In jail? Don't know, don't really care. I'm just…look, I know I'm the last person on earth you want to talk to. But let me say my peace and I'll just walk away."

Brodi leaned against the wall with a casualness he didn't feel, crossing his arms over his chest. "Go on."

Lauryll took a step forward, then stopped, apparently deeming it wise to stay beyond arms' length.

"I know--I know that sorry isn't enough. But I am. Sorry, that is. For what they—for what we—did to you. I swear I didn't know Coby was going to do what he did. Not that it matters, because I did go along with it. He knew I wanted you, Brodi, so he was adamant that I have you. But, uhm, " Lauryll looked down briefly, then looked back up at him. "His own ego was going to make damned sure you paid for it. Do you remember the last conversation I had with you?"

"Highly doubtful, Lauryll. My mind was a little foggy between the dehydration and the drugs." He actually did remember, but damned if he was going to let her know that.

"Coby was going to kill you. Did you know that? Would've been easy, too—surfer boy gets lost in the ocean, no one would've known the difference. The last time was to be the farewell carnival ride, so to speak. When I finished with you," Brodi closed his eyes as she said those words, " I kissed you, and when you didn't respond, I remember crying and asking you why it was so hard to love me."

Lauryll seemed to feel braver now, and took another step towards him. He willed himself to remain casually leaning against the wall. He was in no danger from her—there was no way she could hurt him since he had a clear head free of drugs—but he still had no desire to be anywhere near the woman.

"It was always your eyes that got to me—such beautiful eyes. And you opened your eyes when I asked you why, and even after all you had been through, you said only one thing. "Look at me, Lauryll," you said, "This isn't love. You don't do this to someone you love." That's when I really, really looked at you and saw what we had done to you. Your face was so swollen and bruised, your hands were covered in blood from fighting against the restraints…"

"Lauryll, I remember enough of it quite well. I don't need a grocery list. Go find some other way to cleanse your soul."

"My point," she spat, her eyes flashing with enough anger to tell Brodi all he needed to know about her claims of remorse, "is that I saw your injuries clearly for the first time. Your words broke through to me. I lied—told the guys I'd dosed you up again—and convinced them that we could party some more before finishing you off. I gave you back your life, Brodi Ford. I can't undo those three days, but I gave you back your life. I protected you. That should make up for something, shouldn't it?"

Brodi closed his eyes momentarily to center himself before speaking.

"Lauryll, I've heard enough. This conversation is over. Come near me again and you'll get slapped with a restraining order. Come near any of my friends, and you'll wish you'd never laid eyes on me. And if you come near any of the kids—you won't have time to regret it. In short, it is in your best interest if you leave right now and don't come back."

Brodi turned his 6'4" fame and willed himself to walk away before he got sucked into any more conversation. As it was, he'd heard enough that he was probably going to have nightmares again for the next six months.

"Brodi, wait!"

He kept walking, though he wasn't sure where he was going. He damned sure wasn't going back to his room, at least not yet.

"Brodi, I protected you! Doesn't that mean something?"

Abruptly he made a left down the hall instead of going up the stairs, trying to ignore the desk clerk whose attention had been grabbed by the hysterical woman he had left in the alcove. The Gravitude, he decided, would be full this time of day, various staff members trying to get in an early lunch and get back to work before the chaos of the circuit riders arrived. It would be the perfect place to chill out for a little while. It wasn't so much that he wanted company. He really didn't. He just didn't want to be alone.


	2. Chapter 2

Brodi chose a seat alone near the back, facing the door. If he sat alone instead of joining someone, it would just be assumed to be one of his meditating quirks since he often tried to meditate exactly where he would be most likely to be disturbed, to train his concentration. Nothing would seem out of place.

He DID need to meditate, in a way. This was a delicate situation that could get very ugly, and he needed to figure out how to handle it. True, he could just have security remove Lauryll. Brodi had his fair share of female admirers and fans—not all of them sane. Security knew he was usually very tolerant, more tolerant than made the security detail comfortable, actually. They would be more than happy to be obliging if he requested her removal from the lodge, that is, once they peeled themselves up off the floor and recovered from the shock that he had even asked. And she would need to be barred from the events too, he reminded himself. He still did not have medical clearance to participate, but he still showed up to watch. At the very least, a TRO could be issued.

Still, there was one remaining issue troubling him. Lauryll had pleaded remorse, but he sensed that she had enjoyed listing his injuries and traumas a bit too much. His own safety he could deal with reasonably well. But if she tried to latch on to one of his teammates—either as a new toy or in an attempt to get to him—Brodi shuddered at the thought. Damn it, he was going to have to tell Rahzel.

Brodi leaned back in his chair and sighed. That was SO not a conversation he was looking forward to having. He was so deep in thought that he almost didn't notice when a waitress brought him a glass of water—usually the only thing he drank. He thanked her politely and accepted it, then ordered a whiskey sour. A brief look of concern crossed her face, but she shrugged it off and went to put in his order. Brodi saw the same look of concern across the bartender's face, then he saw the same shrug as he proceeded to make the drink.

He delivered it himself.

"Here ya go, Zen. Whiskey sour. Bit heavy for you isn't it? And kind of early?"

Brodi smiled his most charming smile.

"Thanks, Butch. Eh, it's lunchtime. And I just need to take the edge off."

Butch stroked his mustache thoughtfully.

"You sure everything's OK, buddy?"

Again Brodi pulled out the charmer smile.

"Fine. I'm fine. You'll cut me off at the right time, right?"

Butch sighed as he put the glass down in front of Brodi, his thick fingers twitching a bit as he took his hand away.

"You know it. Gotta keep you guys safe. Just never figured on needing to keep an eye on you."

"Just this once. I promise. Hey Butch, relax. I'm fine."

Brodi must've been on his third or fourth—he was drinking quickly and wasn't really counting—when he noticed Elise and Rahzel standing at his table. Damn, guess this conversation was happening sooner than expected.

"Ah, my two favorite people. Have a seat."

"Brodi, what's doin', sweets?"

Elise was doing a damned good job of keeping her poker face on, which meant she was really worried. She sat down to his left and rested a hand on his forearm. Rahzel sat down across from him.

"Hey, Bro. What's up, pal?"

"Namuch. Just a few drinks. Hey, it's a good thing you're here. I need to talk to you."

Rahzel leaned back in his seat. "Figured as much. Did the doc appointment not go well?"

Brodi waved a hand clumsily in the air in dismissal. "Nah, that was fine."

"OK, it's something else then. Want to talk here? My office?"

Brodi leaned forward in such a way that Elise clutched at his arm, sure he was going over.

"How 'bout your office. We need this private." He thought for a moment, then added, "Ah, Elise too. That is, if you will."

Elise smiled sadly and rested a hand on top of his. "Do you even need to ask?" Then she eyed him and the empty glasses on the table. "Uhm, can you WALK?"

Brodi laughed. "Do you even need to ask?"

Rahzel sighed and stood by Brodi to help him stand up.

"Well, pal, if you wanted inconspicuous, I think the alcohol ruined that for you. Do me a favor, OK? Next time you have a bomb to drop on me, wait until you get to my office to start drinking. I have lots of liquor—you can get as wasted as you want before you start talking."

Brodi stood surprisingly well, then sat down again quickly. Elise helped him up again, then wedged herself under his arm to keep him standing. Rahzel held the other arm and somehow the two of them got the tower of a man moving.

"OK, sweetie, just go slo—whoa! You're going to pull all three of us down, babe. Slow down."

They somehow made it out of the Gravitude and back up the hall. Well, midway up the hall, where Elise propped Brodi against the wall, keeping him standing with her weight while Rahzel unlocked his office door.


	3. Chapter 3

After struggling with the lock, Rahzel finally got his office door opened and took Brodi's arm again to help Elise get him inside.

"OK, couch just inside the door. Drop him—there we go." Rahzel closed the door and relocked it to prevent any surprise guests. Then he went and leaned against the front of his desk. "Now, you want to tell me what's eatin' you, Bro?"

Brodi sat back on the couch and leaned into the tallest part of the arm so that he could hold his head in his hand.

"You mean besides the room spinning and that wave of nausea?"

Rahzel laughed, quieting himself when Brodi cringed.

"Yeah, next time you may not want to pound them so fast. Butch called Elise the minute you ordered your first one, and you'd thrown back at least three or four by the time we got there fifteen minutes later. I'm going to have to talk to him about giving them to you so fast."

"Which brings us back to, what's up?" Elise dampened a paper towel from a water bottle and folded it over Brodi's neck. He jumped slightly at first, then sighed with relief.

Elise sat down beside him and took his hand.

"Honey? I doubt this will get any easier as you sober up."

Brodi folded his arms on his knees and rolled his head forward.

"I know, I know. Elise, Lauryll has shown up."

Rahzel jumped in surprise when Elise let out a stream of curses.

"You're sure it was her? She approached you? Did you call security?"

"Yes, I'm sure. She talked to me. I think she tracked me through the circuit."

"She talked to you? Brodi, did you call security?"

"I didn't see anyone else. Just her."

"Brodi, sweetie—DID YOU CALL SECURITY?"

"NO! I don't want to have to explain this to 30 different people. But I do think Rahzel needs to know."

Rahzel sat down in one of his easy chairs. "Know what? Who's Lauryll?"

Elise didn't take her eyes off of Brodi as she spoke, and the anxiety in her voice and in her eyes wasn't lost on Rahzel. "Someone Brodi had a run-in with in college." She began massaging Brodi's hand as she looked at him intently. "Go ahead, sweetheart. It's your story to tell, and I'm right here beside you. Or would you rather me tell him?"

Rahzel leaned forward in his chair. "Guys, come on. Brodi, if this chick is bothering you, then we ban her, from the lodge and from the events. You're usually pretty tolerant of fans—if you say she has to go, she has to go. You can fill out a TRO and she'll have to stay…"

"I've already thought of that, Rahz. And unfortunately, it's not that simple."

"Why not?"

Brodi looked at Elise, then at Rahzel, and back to Elise.

"Brodi? Come on, bud. Why isn't it that simple?"

Brodi took a deep breath, and, with a squeeze from Elise's hand, started rolling out the explanation before he could change his mind.

"She sexually assaulted me, OK? She and her boyfriend spiked my drink. They drugged me and overpowered me, and I spent the next three days alternating between being a punching bag and a toy. I didn't press charges. I didn't tell anyone anything. I escaped after they forgot to drug me once before they left. A friend took me to the hospital and I told them I'd been mugged. I didn't mention anything else. It was the end of the semester so no one noticed I'd been gone for three days—no missing persons report filed. There's no record of anything. Nothing, except some very, very bad memories that I have worked hard to…"

"Brodi! Brodi, Brodi—take a breath, my man. It's OK. I believe you. And there's no way in HELL I'm letting something like that happen to you again. You feel me?"

Brodi looked over at Rahzel sorrowfully. "I'm not worried about me." Brodi sighed as Elise rested an arm across his shoulders and pulled him closer to her. "We have to worry about the safety of the others. If she's here, it can't be for a good reason."

"No, I have to worry about the safety of the others." Rahzel stood and paced his office a couple of times before returning to the chair opposite the couch. "You're still on medical leave. Want to go visit the folks?"

"No." Brodi said sharply. Then, more softly, "Mom has no idea that any of this ever happened, and I'm not about to tell her now. I don't think she's recovered from my coma yet. Besides, I can't run. If she found me once, she'll find me again. And she might follow me to my parents. I won't put them in danger."

Rahzel sighed. "OK, I can respect that. But we're gonna set you up in another room—at least for tonight, until I can get with security and we look over the cams and find this girl."

"Another room?"

"He can stay with me."

"Elise…"

"No, Brodi, she's got a point. She's on a different wing. She already knows about the situation, so you won't need to explain it again—need I go on?"

Brodi held up a hand in resignation. "OK, OK. Point made. I'll do it."

Rahzel smiled. "Good man. Now, a couple of ground rules. You don't go anywhere without your M-Comm. Got it?"

"Rahzel…"

"No negotiations. Especially if you're alone, that M-Comm is a part of your body. Got it?"

Brodi sighed like a teenager being given dating rules.

"And speaking of being alone—Riggs, I want you surgically attached to him until he sobers up."

Elise nodded, but Brodi rolled his eyes.

"Look, I've been sitting long enough…"

"Yes, you've been sitting, and that's the operative word here. It's been about," Rahzel stole a glance at his watch, "half an hour since you finished that last drink. Most of it isn't even in your system yet. I know the first drinks are starting to wear off, but you start to move again and your brain will get a refresher course." Rahzel leaned forward. "You want to sleep it off in here?"

Brodi held up his hand again and shook his head.

"OK," Rahzel said as he stood up. "Just remember. M-Comm at all times. Sleep in Elise's room. Nowhere alone until the alcohol wears off. Agreed?"

"Agreed."

Rahzel rested a hand on Brodi's shoulder as he stopped in front of the door. "Look, I know that as far as you're concerned the less said about this, the better. I do want you to know, however, that I appreciate how difficult it was for you to tell me this. And I'm not going to give you a pep talk, because I know you don't want that. But you're a good man, Brodi. Just…do me a favor and don't forget that, OK?"

Rahzel cleared his throat. "And now that we've got all that emotive crap out of the way—you feel up to walking again? Do I need to help Elise?"

"No, I'm good."

Brodi stood tentatively, allowing Elise to steady him by holding his arm. He stopped momentarily in front of Rahzel as his hand rested on the doorknob. "Thanks, man. For everything."

Rahzel nodded and clapped him on the shoulder. Then he stood back and held the door open for the two of them, watching as they made their way down to the lobby and up the stairs. Then he closed the door and sat down in the comforting dark to think about his next steps and figure out exactly how much to tell security when he called them.


	4. Chapter 4

Brodi sat on the edge of Elise's bed, his hands wrapped around his coffee mug. It was so difficult to decipher all the churning emotions right now. There was anger that the one bad event in his life—well, OK, if you didn't count that whole coma, almost being sold for spare parts episode—was intruding into his life now. Humiliation was definitely there, since a lot more people than he cared to think about were going to know about this situation. More anger, at himself this time, since he felt like he should be beyond this macho he-man act. His sense of self and his sense of manhood did not depend on the opinion of others. At least, it shouldn't.

"Want to watch a movie?"

"Hmm?"

Brodi looked up as Elise walked out of he bathroom, fresh from a shower.

"I think you have to drink the tea first before you can read the tea leaves, if that's what you're trying to do." That warranted her a smile, which was her purpose in the first place. "I asked if you wanted to watch a movie? I might even have something with some gratuitous surfing. Point Break, maybe?"

Brodi laughed. "You don't have to entertain me, babe."

Elise smiled. "I know. I'm just looking for a sneaky way to cuddle up to you and hold you without making you feel bad."

Brodi chuckled and patted the bed beside him. "Have a seat. I'll take care of your next question without you having to find a sneaky way to get an answer out of me."

Elise raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"You want to know what Lauryll said to me."

Elise nodded as she sat down beside Brodi.

"She said, among other things, that she had given me my life back."

"WHAT?"

Elise stood and started pacing the room.

"She said she pretended to drug me and talked Coby into going to a party, giving me the chance to escape."

"Brodi, PLEASE tell me you see what she's doing."

Brodi nodded but said nothing, so Elise knelt in front of him, taking his hands in hers. "Sweetie, look at me. This is important, and I need to know that you're listening to me. She's trying to get some measure of control over you by stealing you victory back. Honey, you endured what they did to you. You survived. You escaped. She didn't LET you escape—she was the whole reason you were trapped in the first place. YOU got yourself out. Do you hear me? You did it. You could have let it ruin you. You could have let it kill you. You could have become an alcoholic, a drug addict, a rapist, a killer…ANYTHING but what you are."

"I wonder…"

"Honey, they drugged you, beat you, raped you—you were tortured, Brodi. Tortured, body and mind. There is no other way to put it." Elise wiped a stray tear from her eye. "You have a beautiful, sweet, loving soul, and you are such a bright spirit. I mean, my God, this hellish nightmare from your past comes strolling right up to you and your main thought is to protect US? Do I NEED to say anything else to illustrate my point?" Elise reached up and touched the side of his face gently. "Actually, I will say just this. You are one of the best friends I have ever had, and I am going to see you safely through this."

Elise then stood and crawled back into the bed, pulling the covers over her.

"Now, turn off the lamp and come to bed. I really, really just want to hold you right now, and I'm too tired to think up a ruse to get my way."


	5. Chapter 5

Brodi had to admit that he probably slept better in Elise's room than he would have in his room. Even at that, he woke up in a cold sweat at least twice. Elise was always there, though, pulling him close, soothing him, whispering to him. Then she would rub his back or his neck until he fell asleep again.

The last time he awoke to find Elise propped up on one elbow, leaning over him with one hand resting on his forehead and her thumb gently massaging his third eye point.

"Shhhhh," she whispered when he opened his eyes and startled. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you. You were groaning in your sleep, and I was trying to settle you back down without waking you." She leaned down and kissed his forehead. "Dreaming?"

He looked around the room, then visibly relaxed. "Yeah, I think so. Not really clear."

"You're sleeping rough. Do you need anything?"

He sighed contentedly and rolled over, nuzzling his head into her shoulder. "You're doing it, babe. Trust me, I doubt I would have slept at all in my room, especially without you beside me. I'm sorry I've woken you so many times."

Elise smiled and kissed the top of his head. "Anything for you, love. Besides, if the tables were turned, you'd do the same for me." She rolled on top of him and kissed his neck. "Wouldn't you?"

Brodi blinked. Ordinarily being in this position would be sheer nirvana for him, but something wasn't right.

"Elise? I don't think this is a good time."

She tilted her head and grinned at him. "Of course it is. We're both awake. It's a couple of hours until daylight. Might as well pass the time." She flattened herself against him, his body already responding despite his frustration. Damn it, he HATED it when his body did this to him. Elise obviously noticed and laughed. "See? Perfect timing. You're already ready for me."

"But my head isn't in the right place. Elise, we have a deal, remember? No using sex to self-medicate. No regrets."

His mind was still clinging to the knowledge that he and Elise were safe in each other's company. Reality didn't seem to be backing him up.

"You're ready. Come on. You'll feel better. We might as well make the most of it."

"Damn it, it's NOT. GOING. TO. HAPPEN."

Brodi pushed her off and sat up, gasping for breath. He blinked and looked around to see where Elise had landed—but she was sleeping beside him, just starting to stir because of his movement.

"Brodi?" Elise, exhausted from seeing him through his last two nightmares, reached out for him sleepily. "Lay back down, sweetie. You're having another dream. You're safe."

Her hand touched him, and all the confusion and fear and anger from the dream came boiling back, and he couldn't hold it anymore. He bolted for the bathroom, barely reaching the toilet before a hot bitter liquid filled this throat.

He had no idea how long he was on the floor, but he was down to dry heaves when he became aware of a soft hand supporting his forehead. There was a cold washcloth folded over his neck, and he felt a gentle hand moving up and down his back.

"Elise?" he coughed hoarsely.

"Easy, sweetie. I'm here," she said as he fell against her. "Easy. Easy now. I'm here. I'm right here." Elise held Brodi's head to her shoulder and wiped his mouth with a towel. Then she reached up to the sink counter and pulled down a bottle of water. "Here, baby, take a sip of this." She held the mouth of the bottle to his lips and tilted it gently. "There you go. Think you could handle a little more?"

He nodded so she held the bottle up one more time. He took a big gulp this time and sat up.

"Whoa, babe. Go slow."

Elise sat back on her heels and watched him as he tried to get his head together.

"That was a rough one," she said at last. "Somehow I don't think that was the alcohol from last night. Do you think you can stand? I'll help you back to the bed."

"Damn it! I can't let her ruin this!"

Elise jumped at the exclamation.

"Ruin what, baby?"

"You! My friendships! My life! The dream—by the Buddha, I feel like I'm going insane. I am awake now, right? You were sleeping beside me. You were sleeping, weren't you?"

Elise nodded slowly. "Yes, honey. I woke up right before you ran in here. You're safe, Brodi. I promise you you're safe. You're with me, baby. You're safe."

Brodi leaned back against the tub and looked around the room as if still not trusting her or his own senses. Then he related to her the terror of the dream, and his anger and confusion at his mind mixing what was good in his life with the one horror from his past that now seemed to be permeating everything.

Elise let him talk, let him pour out his grief and anger. She made no effort to touch him, merely watched him to see what he needed. When he finally stopped, he pulled his knees up and rested his head on his arms.

"Brodi? Can you stand, honey? Come on, let's get you back to bed. It was a dream, sweetie, a horrible dream. But I promise you that you are awake now and you are safe."

At this point she didn't want to stand over him, so she sat back on her knees and held out her hand to him. After a tense moment, he finally took her hand and they stood together and made it back to the bedroom. She covered him and squeezed his hand.

"God, that must have been terrifying. I am so, so sorry. I would take all of this away if I could, baby."

She kissed his hand and then went and settled into one of her chairs. Brodi lifted himself up on one forearm and looked at her questioningly.

"Elise? Come to bed."

"I, uhm, want to get some reading done."

Brodi sat up completely. "You're a lousy liar."

"I don't want to trigger…"

"I don't care about that. Look, if I stop doing things and being with people I love because it might trigger something, then they have won."

Elise sighed and took a step towards the bed.

"Wait." He said suddenly.

Elise froze. "Yes?"

"Can I ask you to do something?"

Elise raised an eyebrow. "Maybe…" she said hesitantly.

"Could you…could you put on some more of you lotion? It sounds silly, but I love the vanilla scent, it always reminds me of you. It might help me keep my head on straight while I'm sleeping."

Elise smiled and felt a tear form in the corner of her eye. "Of course! Hell, I'll bathe in the stuff if it helps."

She pulled one of the bottles out of her drawer and covered herself in the lotion, making sure to get her arms, chest, and neck covered. Then she sank down beside him, sliding up under the covers and taking him into her arms.

"Now, just settle in with me here and try to get some sleep. I don't know what time Rahzel might call in the morning."

Brodi nuzzled her neck, drinking in the scent of her lotion.

"Thank you, babe?"

Elise kissed the top of his head. "For what?"

"For this. For everything. Mom was right. You're an incredible woman."

Elise felt herself blush, but she smiled and pulled him closer. "I should be thanking you."

"For what? Keeping you up all night and holding my head while I throw up in your bathroom?"

Elise leaned in and kissed his cheek. "Don't you see it? You've melted the ice queen."


	6. Chapter 6

Elise dove for the phone before the ringing woke Brodi, silently cursing herself that she didn't have the foresight to turn the damned ringer off.

"Hello?" she mumbled into the phone.

"Elise? You're still asleep? It's almost noon."

"Rahzel. We had a long night. No, not that kind of night."

"I need to talk to Brodi."

"Can it wait? He had a really rough night. He's only been asleep maybe a couple of hours."

"Sheesh, I know he doesn't drink, but is he THAT much of a lightweight?"

"It wasn't the alcohol." Elise said coldly. She didn't offer any other explanation, and waited for her meaning to sink in.

Finally, Elise heard a sigh. "OK. Have him call me when he wakes up. We found the girl and had her escorted off the property. I want to know if he'll let me talk to Nate."

"You found her? Thank God! Uhm, yeah, I'll have him call you. He really needs to rest, Rahzel."

"I know. Take care of our boy, Riggs."

"You know it. Later."

She was so relieved that this menace had been found that it didn't occur to her to ask why he wanted to talk to Nate. She hung up the phone and looked over at Brodi, who was just starting to stir. She hurriedly flipped the ringer switch to "off" and then curled into him, pulling him in closer to her.

"Shhhh," she shushed as a soft whimper escaped his lips. "You're OK. Just go back to sleep, sweetie; you need to rest. You're OK."

She tucked his head under her chin and began running her thumb up and down the base of his neck. The tension in his back seemed to ease and his breathing pattern lengthened.

"There we go," she whispered softly. "Just relax. No one is going to hurt you. You're safe."


	7. Chapter 7

Brodi wasn't sure when he was finally able to fall asleep after his last incident. Somewhere between Elise's arms around him, the scent of her lotion, and the soothing lull of her voice, he was finally able to just let go.

"My poor baby. Did they hurt you? Let me take care of it."

Brodi's eyes shot open in terror and confusion. "Lauryll?" he gasped. "Lauryll, what are you doing?"

"Taking care of you. Coby's just jealous of you, gorgeous, although I do wish he and Danny weren't so rough with you. Let's see if I can't make you feel better."

He felt her weight on the bed beside him, felt her hand inside his knee and moving up his leg. He tried to move, but he could do nothing but lay there as his body betrayed him once more.

"Lauryll, please stop. Don't do this." Damn it, why couldn't he move?

"But you're so ready for me, see? Doesn't that feel good?"

"Lauryll," he gasped, exhausted from the effort of trying to move. "Please, stop. You can let me go."

He still couldn't move. He strained, fought desperately. Why was this happening? HOW was this happening? He had gone to sleep in Elise's bed. This was a stray memory from years ago coming to the forefront of his mind because of the days events and his exhaustion. That had to be it.

"It's not real." He told himself. "It can't be real."

"Of course it is."

He felt her weight on top of him—Buddha help him, he couldn't breathe. But he had to breathe—he had to focus on anything except his body's betrayal. DAMN IT, why couldn't he move? Drugs, it was the drugs; Coby's father had been a neurosurgeon, and an unwitting supplier to the tools for his son's illicit hobbies. But this wasn't real. None of it was real. He took in a deep breath, trying to latch on to the scent of Elise's lotion. It was somewhere close—it had to be.

"DON'T DO THIS."

Finally he broke through, sitting up in a desperate cold sweat.


	8. Chapter 8

Elise awoke once more to Brodi's scream as he sat up in bed gasping for breath.

"Brodi! Brodi, sweetie, you're OK."

She reached out a hand to touch his arm, but he shrank away.

"Brodi. Brodi, honey, take a deep breath."

He was still shaking violently, so she moved to where she would be in his direct line of sight.

"Brodi. Brodi, look at me, babe." She hoped the repeating of his name would connect with something, anything to bring him around to the present. "Brodi, look at me. Look at me. That's it. It's Elise, baby. You're safe. Whatever it is, it's not happening now. You're safe, Brodi."

She reached out a hand again, and again he shrank back. She pulled her hand back, wanting desperately to touch him, but also needing that touch to be a comfort, not an additional source of fear. Having no reference to work from, and fully realizing that he could easily hurt her in this state, she decided to just sit in front of him as still as possible and continue trying to talk him down.

"OK, baby. I won't touch you until you're ready. I'm just going to sit here with you, OK? I want to make sure you're safe, and I'm not going to leave you hurting like this. You can reach out and take my hand if you want. You have all the power, Brodi."

Brodi rubbed his eyes with his palms. "Elise?"

"That's right, honey. I'm right here. Just you and me. We're in my room and we're safe. Come on, baby. Just take my hand. Take my hand. Deep breaths now—that's right."

Brodi reached out tentatively, still trembling, and after a tense hesitation finally took her hand. Elise began massaging his hand, and finally he broke into sobs. Elise moved closer so that she was sitting beside him, resting a hand on his shoulder. When he didn't shrink away, she pulled him into her arms. The sobs became violent, packed with ten years of rage and grief.

"Just let it out, honey. Let it out." She held him tightly and rocked him back and forth, too shocked and frightened to do anything but react to comfort him. "It's OK. You're safe. You can let it out here. Just let it all out."

"WHY?" He screamed. "Why now? Ten years and I thought I'd moved past it. She shows up one day, and I'm right back in the middle of hell, as if it just happened."

Elise rocked him a few more minutes and let him scream and rage and cry, providing a silent witness as is body was wracked with its painful release. Slowly the raging subsided and he laid his head in her lap and just started talking. Everything came out. Some of the details Elise already knew; she'd accidentally triggered a flashback of sorts in the early days of their friendship and had gotten thrown across the room for her efforts. Still there was a lot that she didn't know, and he laid it all out. She was horrified by some of the details, and then felt ashamed because she only had to listen, not live through it. At this point Elise wasn't sure if the man in her lap even knew where he was; it all seemed to be an automatic response, like a recording. She heard it all. There was his first meeting with Lauryll and her zealous pursuit of him, despite having a boyfriend. The spiked drink, being unable to fight off being loaded into a car. Being beaten until he passed out, revived, beaten again. More drugs. Sodomy, forced oral sex. And then Lauryll; more drugs and more unwanted sex. More beatings. More sexual violence from all three of his captors. Beatings, rape, drugs—a vicious cycle that ended as suddenly as it began when he woke up alone, the drugs clearing. He threw on the first item of clothing he could find, every move extremely painful, jumping and startling at every sound for fear of being discovered mid-escape. Those were the intense memories. More vague was his memory of making it down the street, painfully slow, frighteningly slow, then no memory at all for the time between his finally collapsing on the street and arriving at the hospital, where he endured being poked and prodded and X-rayed, signing himself out AMA as soon as the opportunity presented itself.

A friend had driven him home, furious that he had signed himself out. His first few minutes alone were spent shaking in a steaming hot shower. He stayed until the water turned freezing, then got dressed and returned his mother's frantic phone calls. He then lied to his mother for the first time in his life, assuring her he'd just come down with the flu because he let himself get run down studying so hard for finals. He'd just been sleeping heavily, he told her, and hadn't heard the phone ring. After that, every waking minute—and there were a lot of them—was spent in the surf. He felt safe in the water, cleansed, reborn. Surfing and swimming were his therapy in those first few days after the attack, the burn of the salt water on his wounds a catalyst in his moving meditation as he struggled to reorganize and somehow make sense of his violently altered view of the world.


	9. Chapter 9

He talked, and Elise let him talk without interruption. When he finally pulled himself back up to sit, she took her thumb and wiped away the last stray tears, softly kissing each of his eyelids. When he opened is eyes again, they were clearer than they had been since before this chaos started.

"I, uhm," Brodi looked down a moment, "I don't know where that came from." He looked back up and met her eyes. "I'm sorry I did that to you. You didn't need to hear all that. I don't know what happened."

"I think, sweet one," Elise dabbed at another stray tear, "that came from about ten years of bottled up grief. And don't look so embarrassed. You of all people should know that it's nothing to be ashamed of. You do know that, right? You are not to blame for any of it. It wasn't your fault, and it damned sure doesn't mean you're weak. How many people have you said that to while volunteering for the rape crisis center?"

Brodi sighed. "It's a bit easier to say it to someone else, I've found, than to take it to heart. Regardless, it's still important for people to hear it."

"People?" Elise looked at him pointedly. "It's important for YOU to hear it, sweetie. Not just people. You too."

"OK, point taken. Elise, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I've kept you up all night. I'm sorry I laid it out in such detail. Once it started coming out, it was like a flood that I couldn't stop."

"Will you stop apologizing already? This is Elise, remember? I don't do anything for anyone that I don't want to do. And don't forget I already knew some of it. The only thing that bothers me is that it happened to you at all, not that you told me about it."

Brodi nodded, and Elise was about to say something else when there was a knock at the door. Her eyes met Brodi's in a questioning gaze and he nodded once. She got up, muttering something about timing, and opened the door to find Rahzel standing there.

"It's about 1pm, hon," He said. "Can I come in? I'd like to get Nate working on this if Brodi will allow."

Elise sighed and stood aside, motioning for him to enter.

"Rahzel's here, babe. You up for company?"

"Sorry to drop in unexpectedly, Bro. I called earlier and you were sleeping."

Brodi held a hand up to say "no problem."

"Did Elise tell you the news?"

Brodi looked from Elise to Rahzel quizzically. "What news?"

"Uh, we haven't exactly gotten to that point yet, Rahzel. Brodi hasn't been awake long."

"Ah, OK. You want to tell him, or shall I?"

Elise moved to sit down beside Brodi on the bed. "Be my guest. You know all the details anyway."

"Yeah, true. Brodi, we found Lauryll—that is, security and myself. She's been escorted off the property. Man, she's a piece of work."

"Preaching to the choir, dude."

Rahzel stammered. "Oh, yeah, I guess so. Sorry." An awkward moment of silence ensued, and finally Rahzel continued. "Anyway, I was wondering if you'd be comfortable letting Nate do some research on her, to see if there's something we can nail her to the wall with. He doesn't have to know all the details, just that she's a stalker."

"Nate?"

"Yeah. Like I said, limited info. He has contacts, though, because of some of the jobs he's held, and he might be able to dig up something. I just want to make sure she's out of our hair for good this time. I'm not comfortable with just telling her to stay away. We do have a report filed in case she comes back, but I don't like the idea of waiting until she tries to hurt someone." Rahzel looked at Brodi pointedly. "Nate will be discreet."

Brodi sighed. "I know he will. Yeah, sure, go ahead."

"And I have one more request."

Brodi raised an eyebrow.

"Would you be willing to talk to a rape counselor?"

Brodi bolted upright. "What the hell for?" he spat, more sharply than he had intended. "I didn't file charges, there are no reports of ANYTHING, it was ten years ago…"

"Brodi…"

"No, Elise, let him be. I'll just say this, and I'll drop this for now. Not filing charges doesn't mean it didn't happen, and I don't care if it was FIFTY years ago, time doesn't lessen the impact on your life of something like this. I know you have your own way of dealing with things, and I have to admit it's worked for ten years. But some outside help might be good for you right now. And don't you dare tell me you're OK—you and Elise BOTH look like hell." Rahzel softened his tone a bit. "Just—think about it, and if you want to do it, let me know and I'll give you a name. No one will know but you, Elise, and me. Will you think about it?"

Brodi flopped back on the bed. "OK."

"OK, you'll see one?"

"No. OK, I'll think about it."

Rahzel walked over to the chair by the bed and sat down, leaning forward. He looked from Brodi to Elise and back to Brodi, who had thrown an arm up over his eyes.

"Look, Zen, I didn't bring this up just because we're required to offer it to you. And I didn't bring it up to embarrass you or piss you off. Look at it this way. If this was anyone else on the team, you'd do anything you could to help them. Right?"

"Of course I would."

"Damn straight you would. And you deserve the same level of care. You understand me?"

Brodi nodded without saying anything.

Rahzel stood to leave. "OK, then. I don't want to push you too hard. I just want to make sure you know you're not alone. Now, why don't the two of you get your butts up and let me take you to lunch."

"Thanks, Rahzel, but I don't really feel like I'm up for company right now."

Rahzel looked annoyed, but held his tongue. He looked over to Elise. "How 'bout you, princess?"

Elise stretched and yawned. "I'm more inclined to nap than eat right now, 'Zel."

"OK, OK. I'll drop it. But sometime in the next week I am taking the two of you to lunch, so get used to the idea."

Rahzel made his way to the door, but stopped with his hand on the knob and turned around. "If either of you need anything, you call me. If I find out you needed something and you didn't call me, both of your asses are in slings. Got it?"

He didn't wait for an answer, but heard "Got it!" in unison as he closed the door.


	10. Chapter 10

Rahzel looked around his office at the odd assembly of personalities he had gathered in his office. A lot of strong, clashing personalities. The sooner he got this over with and returned them to the wild, the better.

Nate was standing by Rahzel's desk pretending to look at a venue map. The man was obviously uncomfortable indoors, but was taking it in stride. Rahzel had called him in early and apprised him of the delicate nature of the situation. He probably revealed more than he should have, but he knew that Nate would understand the urgency and he would also be discreet. Just as he thought, if Nate felt any judgment towards Brodi, it neither showed on his face nor in his words.

Psymon was sitting on the couch by the door, where Brodi had sat less than 24 hours ago. Rahzel wasn't sure if the boy was talking to his tattoo to distract him from Zoe's flirtations with Moby, or if he really hadn't noticed them and was simply talking to his tattoo. With Psymon, either explanation was plausible.

Zoe and Moby were sitting right beside Psymon, wrapped up in their own conversation regarding some punk band Rahzel had never heard of (and considering that Rahzel had spent a good chunk of his life being a DJ, that was saying something.)

No one had been able to find Eddie, and he wasn't responding to his M-Comm. Neither JP nor Luther had shown up, either, but then Rahzel actually preferred it that way. And the younger set definitely didn't need to be here for this.

Well, he thought, might as well get started. He began by passing out printouts of a still from the security cameras.

"OK, you clowns, listen up. I'm sure you've heard already that there's a serious situation brewing."

"The serious situation, boss, is pulling us off the mountain when the conditions are such perfection right now."

"Cool it, Moby. This won't take long. You can return to trying to break your neck in about 15-20 minutes. Now, as I was saying…"

"Who's the chick talking to Brodi?"

"If you'll let me finish a sentence, Zoe, I'll get to that. Brodi knew her in college, and she's a bit obsessed with him. Brodi is worried that she might try to hurt someone."

"Surfer has a stalker? Too cool!"

Rahzel leaned against the front of his desk and crossed his arms in front of him. "Uh, Psymon, did you miss the part about "might try to hurt someone"? Oh, never mind. Look, this woman is seriously unbalanced. Security has banned her from the lodge and from the events."

Zoe leaned back in her seat and stretched out her legs. "So if she's been removed and banned, WHY are we having this meeting? And where exactly is Zen anyway? No one's seen him in two days."

"I have seen him. He's laying low to minimize contact with you guys. Like I said, she's obsessed with him. He doesn't want anyone to get hurt just because of association with him."

"How very bloody nice."

"I ALSO," Rahzel glared at Moby, "wanted to show you guys the pictures because the more people we have aware of this woman, the less likely we are to have her slip through security. And I'm sure I don't have to remind you that we have a particular responsibility to the teenagers."

"I have a particular responsibility to ME." Psymon stood up. "I won't let anyone get hurt if something is going down in front of me. But I'm nobody's bodyguard."

Psymon stormed out before Rahzel could respond. Rahzel just shook his head. "I guess the rest of you can go too. Uh, Nate?"

Zoe and Moby looked at each other in surprise. Nate hadn't said a word the entire meeting. Not that he was ever that talkative, but he'd been so quiet they'd both forgotten he was here.

"Yeah?"

"Don't forget what I asked you."

"Right on, boss."

He left as well, and Moby started to follow, but turned around to face Zoe.

"Care to hit the slopes, love?"

"Go on, I'll catch up. I need to take care of something with Rahzel."

"Suit y'self."


	11. Chapter 11

Moby shook his head and left, and Zoe closed the door behind him. She turned to Rahzel fiercely.

"So how badly hurt is Brodi?"

"Pardon?"

"You mentioned at least twice that Brodi is afraid she'll hurt someone. How badly hurt is he? He's still recovering from his accident, for the love of Mike; it wouldn't take much to hurt him right now."

Rahzel walked over to his desk and sat down in his chair. "Zoe, he's fine."

"That's BS and you know it. Brodi doesn't make assumptions about people. If he's afraid she'll hurt someone, then she's already hurt him in some way. And EVERYBODY has already heard about his drinking episode yesterday. Zen doesn't drink. Something happened to really mess with that zen head of his."

Rahzel leaned back in his chair and pondered the young woman pacing in front of him.

"I promise you he's fine. I told you why he's keeping a low profile. Besides, you know Elise hasn't let him out of her sight since he left the hospital. She's taking care of him."

Zoe snorted. "Yeah. Poor boy."

"I, uh, don't think he really minds, Zoe."

Zoe considered this. "Yeah, prolly not. Even I have to admit they're cute together, in a Barbie and Ken sort of way. But all the same: I know he had a serious injury and had an aggressive bout of pneumonia; hell, we almost lost him twice. But we're STILL treating him like he's made of glass. That would drive me crazy. And if we were honest with ourselves, we'd probably see that it does him too. And don't even get me started on Elise—the mother bear treating him like her cub."

"Do you HAVE a point to make, Payne?"

"Yes. I want you to answer my question. Honestly."

Rahzel pressed his hand against his forehead. There were times when he felt like he was running a middle school and not a professional sports circuit, and it definitely wasn't doing his blood pressure any good.

"Look, he was hurt, ten years ago, in college. And it was a bad situation that involved this girl, her boyfriend, and at least one other person. He dealt with it just fine, until yesterday when she decided to turn crazed stalker. Satisfied?"

Zoe stepped back once and folded her arms in front of her. "That he has a crazy woman after him? Hardly. That you finally answered my question, and before I had to threaten to shred you office? Yes, I'm satisfied."

Zoe turned for the door, then paused for a moment before opening it. "Look, I won't tell anyone. Not even Brodi. If he wants to tell me, he will, in his own time. It's just—he's like my big brother, y'know? He's always the one who has it all together; it's just a little Twilight Zone to know that he's been seriously unnerved by something."

"He IS human, Zoe."

Zoe snickered. "Tell that to Eli…HEY!"

Zoe narrowly avoided getting her hand hit by the door flying open as she jumped out of the way. Nate ran in looking agitated—quite an accomplishment for the normally unflappable cowboy.

"Rahzel. You're going to want to see this."

Rahzel and Zoe looked at each other quizzically then followed Nate back out into the hall. From there they made their way down to the lobby, were they saw a security detail running up the stairs. Alarmed, it was all the encouragement they needed to keep up with Nate's pace.

As they neared te top of the stairs, the security guard at the rear held a hand for them to stop. Rahzel could see the problem from where he was standing. Brodi's room was almost to the end of the hall on the right, and he could see Elise on the floor, not moving. Rahzel swallowed hard. Standing over her with a knife in hand was Lauryll.

"What's going on?" asked Zoe, too short to see over the wall of security guards.

"It's Lauryll. Beyond that I can't really tell."

He heard Zoe grumble something, but his attention was drawn away by the lead security officer heading up to him.

"It's the woman removed yesterday, sir. She's demanding to speak to Mr. Ford."

Rahzel nodded. "And if we don't allow that to happen?"

The guard looked Rahzel right in the eye. "Then she says she's going to kill Miss Riggs."

"Is Elise hurt?" Rahzel said over a commotion he vaguely recognized as Nate struggling to hold Zoe back.

"Can't tell, sir. She hasn't let us close enough to see. The police are on their way; I've asked them to come without sirens to avoid alerting her to their presence."

"Mind if I talk to her?"

The guard nodded. "She doesn't appear to have any weapons other than the knife. As long as you keep your distance—stand with me. We don't want to spook her, and I don't want to risk her gaining another hostage."

"I'd agree with that." Rahzel looked back to Zoe and Nate. "You two wait here. I'll take care of it."

Nate nodded and got a firmer grip on Zoe, whispering something to her tat Rahzel didn't catch. Rahzel walked up to the top of the stairs and started to walk down the hall to where Lauryll stood.

"Unless you're someone who can talk some sense into these guards, you'd better not come any closer."

"Lauryll," Rahzel called out in his best Dad voice. "I might be able to help. What can I do for you?"

Lauryll dropped down into a crouch over Elise, who still lay unmoving. "You know my name. How about we make this fair and you tell me yours?"

"I'm Rahzel. I help organize the events here and make sure the boarders are taken care of."

Lauryll pointed the tip of he knife towards Elise. Damn that thing looked mean—he wished she would stop getting it so near Elise.

"She a boarder?"

"Elise? Yeah. Can you let me take a look at her? I just want to make sure she's not hurt."

"No one gets near her until someone brings Brodi Ford to me." She looked down at Elise, then back up at Rahzel. "She's not hurt. I just knocked her out. With drugs, not a knock to the head."

Rahzel nodded. "OK, OK. I understand. How about I send someone up to get Brodi? He wasn't feeling well last night, so I made him spend the night in someone's room in case we needed to take him to the hospital."

Lauryll looked up sharply. "Whose room?"

"Logan!" Rahzel called. "Can you come up here?"

"Yes sir!" he called, heading up the stairs.

"Whose room?"

"Nate's room. Nate, you left Brodi sleeping in your room, right?"

To Nate's credit, he caught on without a pause. "Yeah, he's there."

"Will you go get him and tell him there's a young lady here to see him?"

Nate nodded and took a step back in the direction of the stairs.

"Wait!"

Nate froze in place as he waited for Lauryll to continue.

"He takes that jacket off too. I want nothing on you but that t-shirt, cowboy. And you'll stay on te far wall as you pass me. I even think you're coming towards me, and the blonde princess gets filleted. Got it?"

"Absolutely, ma'am."

Nate took off his jacket and his button-down, throwing them on the floor beside him. Then he raised his t-shirt up to show her there was nothing underneath. Then he walked by her, back to the wall as he passed her. Then he disappeared around the corner and started up the stairs to the next floor.


	12. Chapter 12

Suddenly Zoe's voice broke over the M-Comm. "Guys, the cops are here." Rahzel didn't know whether to relax at that or tense up some more. "And so is Eddie with his laptop and all its wireless goodness. He's googled our little friend here. Listen up, everyone involved in this needs to be on alert. Lauryll is Lauryll McCallister. She's apparently a female version of JP, with a little of Psymon thrown in for good measure—only meaner and less mentally stable."

"Joy of joys," came Nate's voice through Rahzel's earpiece.

"Lauryll is a poor little rich girl—Mommy and Daddy buying her way out of trouble. Seems to have kept her nose clean the last few years, but went off of her medication a few months ago."

"This just gets better and better." Came Nate's reply.

"We REALLY don't want to spook her guys. Under MCPD direction, we're going to take one guard at a time and replace them with MCPD officers. We've already given the cops security jackets. Rahzel, keep her talking. Nate, you let her hurt Elise or Zen, and you'll be dealing with me. Got it?"

"You kidding me?" Nate responded. "If she hurts Elise, you're going to have to stand in line, because Brodi's going to chew my ass up."


	13. Chapter 13

Nate ran up the stairs and down the hall until he hit the east wing. He found Elise's room and knocked.

He stood waiting, hoping Brodi wasn't sleeping. He was about to knock again when the door opened. A very exhausted-looking Brodi appeared in the doorway, wearing nothing but his sweatpants.

"Nate, hi." Brodi yawned and rubbed his eyes. "What's up, dude? Elise stepped out for a few minutes but should be back soon."

"Nah, it's you I need to see. Brodi, my man, you need to throw on a shirt and some shoes, pal. Let me in and I'll fill you in while you get dressed."

Brodi stood out of the way and let Nate pass, then closed the door behind tem.

"So what's up?" Brodi said, as he pulled a t-shirt over his head.

"Lauryll."

Brodi froze. "I, uh, thought she'd been removed from the property."

"She slipped back in somehow. Brodi, she found Elise unlocking your door."

Brodi looked up from were he was tying his shoes. "What? What happened? Is she OK?"

"Elise isn't hurt. But Lauryll did manage to drug her. Brodi, she says she'll kill Elise if we don't let her talk to you. We don't want to put you in that position, but…"

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Brodi said as he finished his other shoe and stood. "Let's go—now!"

"Brodi, you don't have to…"

Nate stopped cold as Brodi shot him a look.

"Yes. I. Do. Now, I'd rather know you were backing me up, but I will go down there alone. Are you coming?"

The Zen Master looked very un-Zen as he looked at Nate's hand on his shoulder, then over at Nate. Nate gave Brodi's shoulder a squeeze then removed his hand.

"Right behind you, pal."


	14. Chapter 14

Elise was starting to move, but hadn't woken up yet. Rahzel was praying that she didn't, at least for the next few minutes. Lauryll was starting to look nervous, and that was making Rahzel nervous. He looked behind him, and noticed three faces that he didn't know, so he guessed that the ruse was working so far. For now he just had to keep Lauryll's attention away from Elise.

"Lauryll, how did you meet Brodi?"

She looked at him sharply. "In college, but you already knew that, didn't you? If your security kicked me off of the property, you have to know I'm not one of his more pleasant memories. Just get Brodi down here; don't worry about the small talk."

"He's on his way."

Lauryll looked back down the hallway where Nate had disappeared, then back to Rahzel. "What in hell is taking so long?"

"I told you, Lauryll. He's sick. Nate probably had to wake him up."

"What's wrong with him."

"Well, I don't really know. It's hard to get the boy to see a doctor. I'm sure you know how stubborn he is."

This explanation seemed to placate her, until Elise moaned lightly, causing Lauryll to look down.

"Lauryll," Rahzel began carefully. "She's going to be waking up soon. She'll be confused and probably scared. Why don't you let me…"

"No! I see Brodi first. Why was she going into his room, anyway? Why does she have a key?"

"She's his friend, Lauryll. He probably gave her his key to run down here and get something for him. Remember, he's sick."

Lauryll shot a look back up at Rahzel. "So you keep saying." She squatted down by Elise and brushed the unconscious Amazon's hair out of her eyes. "She's pretty. I can see why he'd be attracted to her. Maybe if she wasn't so pretty…"

"Lauryll!"

Rahzel and Lauryll both looked up at the sound of Brodi's voice. Brodi rounded the corner, his face cold and emotionless. Rahzel felt himself tense up. Things were about to get even more interesting.


	15. Chapter 15

Nate stopped Brodi at the top of the stairs.

"Look, my man, we need to get something of a plan going. We can't just walk back down there blind."

Brodi looked annoyed, but stopped nonetheless. "Got a suggestion?"

"Well, I was thinking…this lady…"

"She's no lady."

"This GIRL…sorry…is majorly obsessed with you. I think she'll be distracted enough by talking to you tat we can have someone drag Elise to safety. I'll M-Comm Rahzel and tell him to get ready. And I'll be right with you so I can step in if I need to."

"I'll be fine. I don't want to endanger…"

"Brodi, listen to me. You're not as healthy as you think you are. Dude, you're not even two months out of a coma, less than a month out of pneumonia. You can deal with the psychological part of this however you damned well please, but I am NOT going to allow you to be physically harmed if I can help it. Are we clear?"

Brodi shook his head. "OK, OK. Point taken."

He waited patiently for Nate to radio Rahzel, ten they started walking down the steps together. They were about to round the corner when Brodi saw Lauryll leaning over Elise with a knife. He stopped and took a deep breath, then stepped out where he could be seen.

"Lauryll!"

Lauryll looked up and smiled. "Brodi!" she greeted as she stood up. "I was just getting to know your friends. I'm glad you were able to come down; they told me you were sick."

Brodi eyed the knife, willing himself to stay calm. "Why don't you come over here and talk to me?"

"No. You can come closer. I don't want to stray too far from your pretty friend here. Why was she going into your room, Brodi?"

"I wanted one of my books." Brodi stole a glance at Rahzel, who nodded. "She offered to come get it for me. That's all."

Lauryll looked down at Elise then back up to Brodi. "She's not your girlfriend? 'Cause I might feel a little jealous if she was."

"No. Nothing like that."

"I've always loved you, Brodi. You know that?"

Brodi swallowed hard. "Yes, Lauryll. I know."

Lauryll began to tear up. "Brodi, I am SO sorry for what happened to you. I didn't know tat Coby and Dan were going to hurt you like that. And I'm so sorry for my part in it. You do believe me, don't you? Can you forgive me?"

Brodi closed his eyes and swallowed hard again. He could do this. He could do this to keep Elise safe. A deep breath to center himself, and he was prepared. He opened his eyes and looked directly at Lauryll.

"I forgave you years ago, Lauryll. Why don't you come over here and give me a hug?"

He sensed Nate take a step forward in alarm, but he subtly held his hand back to stop him.

"Really? You…you'd let me do that?"

Brodi took another deep breath and nodded. "Of course. Now come on. Give me a hug, and maybe we can go to dinner later."

"Oh Brodi! I knew you'd come around!" She ran and threw her arms around his neck, and he circled his arms around her and locked his grip in place. Rahzel was already moving, sprinting towards Elise, half a dozen police officers running behind him. He slid in front of Elise and, picking her up, ran back down the hall towards safety. Nate had moved in behind Brodi and grabbed the hand with the knife, attempting to disarm her. Lauryll started screaming, shrieking, trying to get out of Brodi's grip. Brodi held tight as two policemen ran towards them, guns drawn.

"Brodi, how could you!" she shrieked. "How could you? I could have gotten us both out of here without hurting anyone. How COULD you?"

She went limp and started sinking to the ground. Brodi lowered her down, then sensing that Nate had gotten her to release the knife, let go of her. The officers were now directly over them, so Brodi moved out of the way. One officer leaned in to cuff the sobbing woman on the ground while the other one kept his gun drawn.

Nate offered a hand to help Brodi stand up when he heard one of the officers shout a warning. Lauryll had pulled another knife from somewhere and was lunging at Brodi. Nate jerked Brodi's arm hard to the left, while the officer who had lost control tackled Lauryll. Too close to risk a shooting, they managed to regain control and fastened both of her wrists in the cuffs.


	16. Chapter 16

Nate once again helped Brodi stand as Lauryll was led away shrieking and crying. Nate gave Brodi's shoulder a squeeze while Zoe practically flew down the hall towards them. She gave Brodi a rather exuberant hug, then kissed him lightly on the cheek and on the side of his neck.

"OK, come on and give him room. Brodi, you need to sit down, brother, until they get a stretcher up here for you."

Brodi looked at Nate, confused. "Stretcher? Why?"

"Dude, don't you FEEL that? I got you out of the way, but that knife still made contact. I wasn't fast enough. Come on now, sit down."

Brodi looked down at a seeping red stain on his shirt. "Oh."

Zoe rolled her eyes. "Dude, you are a piece of work, you know that?" She pushed him back against the wall. "If you're not going to sit, at least let us take a lok at it to see how serious it is."

Nate raised Brodi's arm above his head as Zoe lifted his shirt. She pressed lightly above the wound with a tissue. "Doesn't look dangerously deep, but you'll need to go to the hospital and get it cleaned out and stitched." She looked up at Brodi as Nate removed the injured man's shirt completely and pressed it to the wound. "Brodi? You OK, babe?"

Brodi blinked and looked down at Zoe. "What's that?"

"I said, you OK? Good, here comes the stretcher."

"I'm fine. Any word on Elise?"

Zoe nodded. "Rahzel got her to safety, and she's already headed to the hospital to get checked out. Crap, Nate, I think he's going into shock."

Nate nodded. By this time, the stretcher had been pulled up beside them and the paramedics were moving in to take over. Zoe moved out of the way and one of the paramedics took Brodi's arm and started moving him forward. Nate stepped in when Brodi blinked, shook his head, and pulled his arm away.

"Brodi, we're going to hand you over to these guys, OK? They'll take care of you."

"Hmmm?" Brodi said again.

"Your side, buddy. You need it stitched up." Nate stole a concerned glance at Zoe. "Go with them and we'll meet you at the hospital to bring you home."

Brodi let himself be led to the gurney and sat down willingly. Nate looked again at Zoe in consternation. There wasn't enough blood loss to cause the level of confusion Brodi was displaying. Maybe the stress? Brodi had never been one to crack under pressure, but the last several weeks had been one issue after another. Lack of sleep? He wondered. Again, he'd seen Brodi get on a course with no sleep at all and pull a gold out of the air. None of it made sense. Besides, he'd been perfectly alert not ten minutes ago—and he'd come downstairs out of a dead sleep.

Nate looked around at the CSI types bagging things up. He walked over to an officer he knew, and after exchanging a brief pleasantry, got down to business.

"That dagger she had," he pointed to where she had dropped it. "Test it to see if it's laced wit anything."

His friend raised an eyebrow. Nate pointed to Brodi, who was currently fighting one of the paramedics trying to get oxygen tubing around his head. Zoe was trying to soothe him, but it didn't seem to be working. "He hasn't lost enough blood to be that delirious. And the man is NEVER belligerent." He started back towards Brodi. "Just check it out."

"Brodi!" Brodi looked over as Nate reached his side. "What's going on, man? You need to let them help you."

"Mr. Ford? Brodi—it's just oxygen. I know it's annoying, but it's just a precaution, OK. Your friend Zoe was telling us you've had a collapsed lung within the past couple of months, and you had a bout of pneumonia? It's just a precaution until we make sure everything's OK."

Brodi looked over at Nate, who simply nodded. "It's OK, dude."

"We're going to start an IV, too, OK? Get some fluids in you."

"I…I'm fine."

"Yes, sir, I understand. But we're going to need to get you stitched up. You've lost blood, we don't want you dehydrated on top of that."

"Let them start the IV, Zen. Come on, get a hold on yourself."

"I think I have an answer."

Nate looked around at his officer friend, who was holding up an evidence bag containing a small syringe. "Did you see this during the struggle?"

"Well, you know, I was a bit concerned with keeping that knife out of my friend's back."

"He grabbed her so that we could get Miss Riggs away?"

Nate nodded.

"I'm betting she dosed him with something. Don't know what was in it, and the glass is broken now, but she probably had it ready for him and got his hip or back in the struggle." The officer looked over to the paramedic starting the IV. "Check him for puncture marks once you get the urgent stuff taken care of. It's a small needle, but if she used enough force or caught him at an angle, he'll probably bruise."

Nate looked over at Brodi and felt a surge of anger. Damn it, what else was going to happen to him? Brodi was completely complacent now, letting himself be poked and prodded while he stared into space.

"OK, we're going to move him, sir, before the window of time to safely stitch up that wound closes."

Nate nodded. "Do it. I'll meet him at the hospital. Look, he's not normally so agro'd. We think he was drugged."

The paramedic laughed. "It's OK. You'd be surprised at what we see, and we know not to take it personally. He'll be fine with us, won't you, Brodi?"

Brodi didn't respond; whatever was in his system was obviously taking a full hold by now. The paramedics started off, and Nate turned and walked over to Zoe.

The punk princess was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed in front of her, trying to look casual as she gazed over the chaotic scene. Only the rapid twitch in her foot gave away that she was anything but casual.

"Zoe?"

She looked up at him. "Yeah?"

"Want to ride with me to transport those two home?"

"Sure. You might need some help getting our wounded snowbirds in the door. But, uhm, my car, OK? I don't want to be trying to lift 200 pounds of Buddhist surfer into your truck if he's still loopy later."


	17. Chapter 17

Elise walked into the examining room just as Brodi was slipping his shirt back on.

"Brodi! Thank God! I was so worried!" She ran to him and threw her arms around him, pulling back only when she saw him wince.

"Did I hurt you? Oh my god, I'm so sorry."

"It's OK, Elise. Relax." Brodi laughed, amazed that he even felt like laughing. "It's just a few stitches. I'm fine."

"Stitches?" She grasped his upper arms and looked him up and down. "Where? What happened?"

Brodi wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close. "Hey, hey, take it easy. Lauryll went for blood, and she'd have gotten a lot more of it if Nate hadn't been there."

"Well," she said as she stepped in between his knees as he sat on the examining table. "I hear he's not the only hero today. Rahzel said you made it possible for him to get me away."

"Speaking of," began Brodi as he held her face in his hands and leaned in to kiss her, "how are you? I've been asking, no one would tell me anything."

"I'm fine. Bit of a drug hangover, bored as hell with the fluid drip they had me on. But no harm, docs say I can go home." She kissed his cheek. "You?"

"Drug hangover, bored with the drip, stitches hurt like hell. But yes, I think I can go home. Waiting on my release papers."

Elise let Brodi circle his arms around her again, and she rested her head on his chest. "Why?" se whispered. "Why did you risk yourself like that?"

Brodi rested his chin on top of her head and sighed. "She would have killed you, Elise. I had to do something. I'd have let her do anything to me, just to keep you safe."

Brodi released Elise as there was a quick tap at the door. In walked the same ER doc who had treated Elise.

"Ah, Miss Riggs. I see you've found your friend. E's been asking for you."

Elise gave Brodi one last kiss on the cheek and moved away. "Dr. Barron. Yes, I found him. Thank you."

"Well, Mr. Ford, how are you feeling?"

"Honestly, I'm not entirely sure."

The small redhead nodded. "Understandable. Let me see the bandages."

Brodi dutifully lifted his shirt and let her examine the white square taped to his side. "Good. It looks good. The stitching went well, and it wasn't too deep. I'd change the bandages every day at first, more often if it bleeds through or gets wet. You should rest and not move around too much for 2 or 3 days…so I'd say it's doctor's orders to kick back and read or watch a few movies." She stepped back and pulled his shirt down for him. "I have painkillers and antibiotics waiting for you at the nurses station, as well as packages of bandages. You can go home now if you'd like."

Brodi nodded. "Yes, please. No offense, but I've spent far too much time here lately."

The doctor chuckled, looking at him over the rim of her glasses. "I noticed that. I looked through your file to make sure I wasn't overprescribing or giving you something that you might be allergic to. You're rather tough to kill, Mr. Ford. Let's keep it that way, shall we?"

"Now that is doctor's advice I am more than willing to take."

"Good. Here are your discharge papers and aftercare instructions. Do you have any questions?"

Brodi shook his head.

"All right then, you can go. Your friends are waiting in the lobby at the end of the hall. Give the discharge papers to the nurse at the desk outside and she'll give you your supplies. Come back if it's not healing properly or if you tear the stitches open, if you start running a fever, or if red streaks start coming from the wound site. Basically just use common sense. If something doesn't feel right, I'd rather you get it checked out and find out it's nothing than to ignore it and wind up in the hospital again as an in-patient. Got it?"

Brodi nodded.

"Good. You are free then, my dear. You two take care of each other, OK?"

Brodi thought he saw a little bit of a blush on Elise at that comment. He smiled to himself as he hopped down off the examining table, then the floor seemed to move and he lurched forward. Both the doctor and Elise grabbed for him.

"Whoa, easy there. We gave you something to counteract the drugs you were giving, but it may take a while for them to get out of your system. You're probably still weak from blood loss, too. Maybe I should get a nurse to bring a wheelchair."

"No," Brodi shook his head. "I can walk."

Dr. Barron sighed. "OK. Just…slow and easy, OK?"

Elise stepped forward and took Brodi's arm. "I've got him covered. I can help him to the car."

The doctor nodded and opened the door for them to leave, and neither Brodi nor Elise felt guilty about hoping it was the last time they'd need to see anyone in this place for a while.


	18. Chapter 18

Brodi felt like a teenager slipping out after curfew. He couldn't sleep, didn't want to sleep, so he had waited for Elise to fall asleep and slipped out. He left down the back stairs—didn't feel like coming across anyone, especially with his board in hand. EVERYONE knew what had gone down that day, so stepping outside into the hall was like stepping into a nest of mother hens.

Still, the view from Peak 1 had been worth it. He had a favorite spot overlooking the valley, and the view was breathtaking. He really had wanted to go to Peak 3, but he didn't know if he had the stamina. So, Peak 1 it was.

He heard the light footsteps coming up behind him and he knew it was Zoe without looking around. She tossed her board down beside him and draped a jacket over his shoulders before sitting down beside him.

"If you're gonna sneak out, take a jacket, babe. You're not Psymon."

Brodi smiled at her. "Thanks."

"Thought you'd be up here. It's a good place to get your head on straight. You're gonna give the suits a fit, though. You're SUPPOSED to be resting."

Brodi looked around at her and swung his arm out in a wide gesture. "I AM resting, Zo…look at this view!" Then he smiled at her. "So how ya doin', babe?"

"Me? I'm fine. I'm not the one who keeps finding reasons to visit the hospital. If it's a cute nurse or doctor you're after, you could just ask her out. It'd be less painful."

Brodi laughed, then winced as the stitches in his side began to pull. Zoe leaned her head on his shoulder and gave an uncharacteristic sigh.

"It's nice to hear you laugh. We need our Brodi back."

Brodi put his arm around the small woman and smiled. "He'll be back, hon. He just needs some time."

"You know, you really shouldn't have climbed up here. Those stitches are too fresh. You could open up your side again."

"Zoe, I already have Elise fawning over me like a mother hen. And don't get me started about Rahzel."

Zoe nodded. "Funny. I was just telling Rahzel earlier today that we shouldn't be treating you like you're made of glass. Anyway, I just came up here to check on you and to let you know you can talk to me. You know, if you need to. I'm pretty good at keeping a nonjudgmental listening ear."

Brodi smiled and squeezed her closer to him. "Thanks, Zo. I appreciate it."

"Don't just appreciate it. Use it. I'm sorry you were hurt like that. And I'm sorry that it all blew up in such a public way. But most of all, I'm sorry that you have to deal with the aftermath. You didn't deserve any of this. I know what it's like because I've been through it.

The surfer took Zoe's hand in his and kissed it lightly, giving it a squeeze. "Oh, Zo…"

"No, it's OK. I just wanted you to know that if you need to talk to someone who understands, I'm your girl. Now, let's get off this mountain without you bleeding out. Straight down run. You jump or trick, I'll kill you myself. Got it?"

Brodi grinned. "Got it."

Zoe hopped on her board, yelling over her shoulder, "Meet you at the fireplace!" before she disappeared. Brodi took a last look at the view, then pushed off himself. The snow would cleanse him the way the surf did in warmer climates, and he felt the embrace of the mountain as he followed the little wildcat down. No, he wasn't in top form, nowhere near it in fact. But it felt good to be thinking about nothing but the snow.


	19. Chapter 19

The fire was relaxing to the point of being hypnotic, so much so that Brodi didn't notice that Zoe was holding out a cup of hot chocolate to him until she cleared her throat.

"It's hot chocolate, sweets, not hemlock."

Brodi looked up and took the mug gratefully. "Thanks, Zo. So how did you know I wasn't sleeping?"

Zoe plopped herself down beside him and folded her legs up under herself. "Saw you leaving. I didn't sound the alarm—figured you needed to get out. But I also didn't want you freezing your ass off, so I gave you some time then went looking for you." Zoe stared at her mug for a moment before continuing. "Wasn't hard to find you. You were in the same place you took me to last time I got messed up in the head."

Brodi was still entranced by the fire, but he nodded his appreciation. "Well, I was right, wasn't I? It's a good place to go to clear your head."

"Yup. I do have one question, though."

Brodi leaned forward over his cup and took a sip. "Yes?"

"How did you manage to get away from Elise? She hasn't left your side since the hospital."

"She's sleeping. I couldn't sleep, got a little stir crazy."

Zoe nodded, returning her attention to her own mug for a moment.

"You know, when you were unconscious, she only left the hospital once."

Brodi raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

"Seriously. The suits made her do a race. She knocked over three other boarders, including Moby, and sprained her own ankle." Zoe took a casual sip of hot chocolate. "Moby had to carry her across the finish line. They didn't ask her to leave the hospital again."

"No kidding."

"She loves you, Bro. She might pull the "friends with benefits" thing with you. But make no mistake. That woman loves you."

Brodi nodded absently, deep in thought. Zoe sat her mug on the coffee table and rested a hand on Brodi's knee.

"Did you hear what I said, babe?"

Brodi blinked. "Uh, yeah. I'm just tired, in dire need of sleep, I guess."

Zoe laughed. "About damned time. Then go sleep! You know how to find me if you need me." She got up to leave, then stopped behind him, leaned over the couch and threw her arms around his neck. "I'm serious about talking if you need to." She kissed his cheek and was off before he could answer.


	20. Chapter 20

Brodi watched the fire a moment or two longer after Zoe left, then after returning the mugs to the kitchen, went upstairs to Elise's room. He almost knocked, then remembered that this was where he was temporarily staying. He fished out the extra key he'd been given and quietly opened the door.

Elise was still sleeping, so e slipped off his shoes and shirt and crawled under the blankets beside her. Slowly he draped an arm over her, and she turned suddenly and curled into him.

"Shhh." He whispered. "it's just me."

Elise opened her eyes and smiled at him, then curled into him and went back to sleep. Brodi sighed happily and pulled Elise closer to him. As he drifted off to sleep, he realized with relief that this was one time he wasn't going to have a problem being in the now. He didn't want to think about this afternoon, yesterday, ten years ago. All that mattered was this moment, with this woman next to him.

With these thoughts he got lost in his breath, her breath, her heartbeat. And finally, for the first time in months, he was able to enter a peaceful sleep.


End file.
